THE Darlington & Stockton Times is taking a stand against the devastating issue of livestock worrying.

A recent spate of attacks on sheep during lambing season has brought the issue to the fore and created a wave of anger amongst both farmers and members of the public.

In the modern day fight against the issue, farmers have also taken to social media to highlight the damage done by posting photographs of their injured sheep, some with horrendous injuries.

Now The Darlington and Stockton Times, along with its sister titles The Northern Echo and Northern Farmer have launched their Lead the Way campaign to call for changes in the law to tackle the issue head on.

The campaign calls for a law to make it compulsory for dogs to be on leads near livestock, wherever the livestock are as we all raising awareness among dog owners to keep there pets on leads and make sure they are securely housed as many attacks are committed by lone dogs.

It is also encouraging farmers to report attacks to the police so a true picture of the problem is known.

The campaign follows a final report by the Livestock Worrying Police Working Group which analysed the issue over five police forces across the country, including North Yorkshire Police.

The report described livestock worrying as a “major concern” for its stakeholders, including the National Farmers’ Union, especially as there are no national statistics as police forces currently do not have to record attacks.

Teesdale farmer, Jonathan Metcalf, said the problem was getting worse each year and he recently lost eight sheep and the 16 lambs they would have produced – a total of about £3,000.

“It had a massive effect on my livelihood,” he said. “I think it should be law that dogs should be on leads.”

MP for Bishop Auckland, Helen Goodman, and MP for Richmond, Rishi Sunak, have also backed the campaign.

Ms Goodman said the issue was a “serious concern” and the calls for “stricter policing and sentencing from the farming industry are completely justified”.

She urged dog owners to be “mindful” and take “small but necessary steps” to protect animals.

Mr Sunak shared Ms Goodman’s views calling the working group’s figures “something of a wake-up call”.